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Thursday, June 25, 2009

Metro TALK: Villa Park, Orange and Anaheim Hills celebrate the 4th of July

5th Annual Villa Park Run/Walk Saturday June 27th, 2009The City of Villa Park’s 5th Annual 5K Run/Walk to benefit the Friends of the Villa Park Library will be this Saturday June 27, 2009. The annual race will start at the Villa Park High School track at exactly 7:45 a.m.

The race will run east on Santiago to Sycamore, left on Sycamore to Taft. Going left at Taft, the race then goes to Ludwig, left on Ludwig to Santiago, then right on Santiago to Briley, right on Brile, back to Taft, left on Taft, then back to the finish at Villa Park High School.

Meanwhile, the Villa Park Library remains open during the courtyard construction with access temporarily limited to the east side of the building. Construction is expected to be completed by the end of the month.

Kick off the 4th with the 3th Of July Orange Tradition The traditional start of the 4th of July in the Greater Orange Communities is always on the 3rd of July in the City of Orange. Start your salute to the red, white and blue at Fred Kelly Stadium from 4 pm to 9 pm on Friday July 3rd for the traditional start to the summer’s biggest holiday.

Enjoy interactive games, listen to live entertainment and eat delicious food from Orange non-profit groups and sing-a-long to patriotic songs with the Orange Community Master Chorale of Santiago Canyon College. Then at night is the traditional colorful fireworks show.

Tickets are $5 for all over age of 2, available at 230 East Chapman Avenue or event gate. For more information call the Orange Special Events Hotline @ 714-744-7278.

Orange Park Acres 4th of July ParadeThe Fred Kelly fireworks are just a warm-up for the multitude of Greater Orange events on the 4th of July. The Orange Park Acres neighborhood 4th of July Parade will feature Grand Marshal Julie Maurer. Known as the “keeper of the e-tree” Julie is responsible for keeping OPA electronically in touch and is touted as the “ultimate volunteer”.

This year’s OPA 4th of July theme is, "Honoring Our Volunteer Firemen" to celebrate the communities rich history with the volunteer firemen.

Anaheim Hills 2009-The 4th Must Go on! The 20 year tradition of the Anaheim Hills Fireworks show was saved this year by two local businesses contributed $27,000 to fill a financial gap that threatened to end the hugely popular event. SA Recycling and Foxfire Restaurant kicked in the funding to make sure that the fireworks spectacular at Peralta Park would survive another year.

The 4th of July in Anaheim Hills of course starts out with the Annual Mary Castle Memorial 5K/10K run and 2K/5K Walk, Dog Show and Parade. Registration/check-in and warm-ups take place from 5:30 am- 7:30 am at Canyon High School. The 20th annual race will start exactly at 7:30 a.m. and dogs and strollers are allowed. This year participants in the walks may bring children under 5 for free.Anaheim Hills Rotary Pancake Breakfast will also take place in the Canyon High School cafeteria from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. ($4 for adults kids 10 and under $3-race participants get a $2 off coupon). The Yankee Doodle Dog show starts at 10 a.m. at Canyon High School’s upper lot- registration on the day of the event (9 a.m. registration) is $10 with a $5 fee for each additional category (a total of six judging contest categories are available). For more information on the dog show contact Marc Schissler at 714-609-4550.At 3:00 p.m. the 4th of July parade starts off from Canyon High School west down Santa Ana Canyon Road ending at Pinney Drive. The parade will have over 50 parade entries from floats to marching bands.

After the parade it is on to Peralta Canyon Park at 115 N. Pinney Drive for the family fun and the free fireworks show starting at 9:00 p.m.

Orange Rotary wins Governor’s AwardOrange Rotary received the coveted Governor’s Award as Best Club in District 5320 for 2008-2009. Under the leadership of President Don Saltikov and his Board, the club was chosen best among the 46 clubs in the District for the second consecutive year. The District encompasses all of Orange County and a portion of Los Angeles County.

Orange Rotary is known for it’s community, youth, and international service and placed 1st, 2nd, or 3d in all six of the categories, including membership, club bulletin, and website.

One of the community programs supported by the Orange Rotary is THINK Together, a non-profit after school learning program that supports over 90 children at 1909 E. Quincy Street in a densely populated apartment area of Orange. Located in adjoining facilities at the address are the Highland Learning Center and the Highland Teen Center. The heavily used centers were in desperate need of painting and carpeting. Employees of Home Depot, parents, and students pitched in to help Orange Rotarians create a pleasant new setting for learning.

The Orange Rotarians Community Service Director Diane Clanton and Orange President Don Saltikov were recognized by Omar Ramirez and Ruth Malagon, the directors of the two community centers, with an appreciation award. Ramirez said the generous participation of Orange Rotarians helped unite parents and students to work together for the first time in an all -volunteer project. He said, “Your improvements to the centers was especially important to the Teen Center’s new program to help our teenagers create pride in their community and introduce them to achieving personal benefits if they pursue a college education.”

Rotary is an organization of business and professional leaders united worldwide, which provides humanitarian service, encourages high ethical standards in all vocations, and helps build goodwill and peace in the world. Those interested in attending a weekly meeting of Orange Rotary may contact Randy Straight @ rstraight@westbond.com.